


the task before you

by abandonedquiche (chlorinetrifluoride)



Series: Under(grad)tale [7]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, well there's two of them technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 20:50:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10998750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chlorinetrifluoride/pseuds/abandonedquiche
Summary: Your name is Undyne, you're a graduate student in biochemistry, and you're trying to find a unique position for a unique student in Dr. Gaster's lab.You practically fall out of your chair when you succeed.





	the task before you

“I’d like to work with you guys. But how am I going to be a part of a lab when I don’t have arms?” the freshman you’ve dubbed “The Monster Kid” asked you. You looked them over, and promised them you’d think of something.

They’re smart enough to be in Gaster’s research lab, if he hand-picked them and Frisk out of all the other freshmen vying for a position. You observed them in their science classes. They’re fucking brilliant. Them and Frisk, they make a good team as lab partners.

You don’t even think you were that smart and determined when you were in the second term of your freshman year.

You asked the kid what their name was, and they told you that you could call them MK, since that was part of their nickname, anyway. The nickname you gave them because they drink Monster energy drink the way Chara chain smokes.

So you have to think of something.

In fact, you think it might be a test from the doctor. He’s weird like that. He’s challenging you to do this on your own, without relying on Alphys’s knowledge to help guide you through. You accept the challenge, the way you've accepted all the challenges that have ever been thrown at you.

( _A chemist doesn't necessarily need depth perception,_ you think with a grin, of your undergraduate self, pleading your case to Gaster.)

You’re _Undyne_. You’re a student who never gives up, who will never, ever give up. You always think of something.

Everyone has a place in this lab. Or one of several places.

At 1 AM, while you’re inputting data from today’s work, you get an idea.

The thing is, when you get an _idea_ , you can’t let it go to waste, especially now. This is _the idea._

You nearly fall out of your chair once you think of it. It's such a good spot for them, not just for the accommodations that need to be made for them, but for who they are as a person. They're smart, but they're overzealous sometimes. You've seen them dash from their dorm to class and nearly fall on their face in the process. They need to learn patience. This will teach them the hell out of patience.

You hope MK's up for it.

You call them up, before it occurs to you to even think of the time. How late it must be. Even Alphys has gone home.

Although it’s 1 AM on a Friday night, they answer on the second ring. You think of Papyrus, even though he isn’t into science. Him and his infectious passion for everything.

“Undyne?” they ask.

You don’t mince words.

“I called you for a good reason, if I’m calling you this late,” you start out, trying badly to contain your own excitement. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“You didn’t wake me up!” they insist, their voice a little sluggish from sleep.

The sleep they're currently not getting because of you.

"So, uh, why'd you call, then?" they ask.

“Excel has speech-to-text. So do almost all the other programs we use for data entry,” you tell them. “So that’s where you fit into the lab. Data entry's not always the most interesting task in the world, but since we gotta know where we are, it's one of the most import--”

“I can do that,” they tell you, almost reverently. “I can definitely do that. Are you really serious?”

"Course I'm serious, punk! Be in the lab at 9 AM."

"Oh, for sure! Oh, man, I'm so excited!"

"Hope you're as excited in the morning," you say seriously. 

You're excited for them. It's always good to have someone eager in the lab, so long as their eagerness is tempered with caution. You will personally make sure this kid succeeds, if it's the last thing you do.


End file.
